Japan's Hiroshima High Court on Wednesday ordered the government to pay compensation to South Koreans who had been forced to work as laborers during World War II. 

It was the first time that Japan's high court ordered the state to pay compensation for former Korean forced laborers.

The state was ordered to pay 1.2 million yen (US$11,760) to each of 40 plaintiffs.

They had demanded 11 million yen (US$107,000) each from the state and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

The court turned down the plaintiffs' request for compensation from Mitsubishi Heavy, however.

Yesterday's ruling was seen as important because it showed Japan's judicial system was moving to support the interests of former forced laborers in other Asian countries.

But the ruling got a guarded reception from one prominent Chinese lawyer who has been involved in similar lawsuits.

The victory of the Korean forced laborers is "encouraging" news for hundreds of Chinese slave laborers, said lawyer Kang Jian yesterday.

"However, this case does not mean Japan's judicial system might change to support the victims since a lot of similar lawsuits were rebuffed by Japanese courts," said Kang, from the Beijing Fangyuan Law Firm. Since 1995, Kang has been working to help Chinese laborers who were forced to work in Japan in World War II.

There is still a long way to go before forced laborers from Asian countries can demand justice from the Japanese Government considering the latter's stubborn attitude towards historical fact, she said.

The plaintiffs claimed that they were forced to work at a Mitsubishi factory in the city of Hiroshima and as a result were exposed to radiation from the atomic bomb dropped by the United States in August 1945.

Of the 40 plaintiffs, 25 have died, with relatives carrying on the court battle.

Yesterday's result was a reversal of a lower court ruling.

The suit was originally filed by six people in December 1995 and 40 more joined in August 1996.

(China Daily January 20, 2005)